Friday, November 25, 2011

I have NEVER participated in a Black Friday Sale. In all my years I've made it a habit to stay HOME. As a coupon saver you'd think I'd relish the chance to save money on everything, but huge sales like this are no bargain to me. In my mind it just promotes over spending. I pride myself for my self control. The deals to be had are awesome. I just prefer quiet, relaxed, and sane shopping expeditions.

But this year, I had no choice but to venture out into the throng of loaded shopping carts, pushy people with huge elbows, coupon yielding, and carts run up on my heels. The little silver or blue haired old ladies push their carts as a weapon of mass destruction...wait a minute...I sort of resemble that remark. Before I always had an excuse...I was working, I was sleeping, I had this or that to do. <sigh> It was a bit of poor planning on my part and that's my excuse.

I took an inventory of certain products after everyone left last night. We are down to two cans of coca-cola. Unfortunately the cheapest for the biggest volume can be found at Wal-Mart in my town. I usually stay away from the superstores. Last night about 1AM, my printer ran out of ink as I printed off a chapter I was working on to edit. I'm down to twenty sheets of paper. I normally have back-ups but with all the prep work for Thanksgiving, I had let my office supplies take a back seat. I had no option.

A word or two about printing off pages. Does anyone else flip the pages over and print on the back of a previous print out? I do. After I make the changes of whatever chapter I'm working on, I'll draw a diagonal line on the sheet and put it back through my printer for the second go around. I even print off coupons on the backs of previously printed sheets. Just call me Scrooge McDuck when it comes to squeezing a penny into a dime.

Anyhow back to my story. I drove to the local Wal-Mart, we only have one. The parking lot was filled. I ended up driving around to the tire center to find a spot. Am I ever thankful to be shed of my casting boot for my broken toes! I pulled open the door and was met by a not a sea, but an ocean of shoppers. In my mind it was a fire code hazard. The fire marshal who estimates the occupancy of a building by square footage would have had a field day!

My hometown has an estimated 96,000 people in it. To me, it looked like over a quarter of them were in Wal-Mart. I'm probably over exaggerating.

I was my usual polite self saying, "Excuse me," and "pardon me" me as I American Crawled my way through the people. Diving my way through the waves and coming up for air in small empty spots big enough for me. No shopping carts to be had they were all in use by other shoppers.

I figured it should have been an easy run up the back aisle where the sodas, paper, and ink cartridges were. Wrong! I forgot the layaway section was in the back of the store. The line ran up the toy aisle down to the grocery section. While I have no breathing problems normally, the smell of this many people in a small area was suffocating. This or that perfume, body odor, bad breath, and a host of other unpleasant smells filled my sinuses as I almost backstroked my way through.

It is now three hours later and I've returned home with the 2 24-packs of soda, paper, and my ink cartridges. I'm exhausted! I pat myself on the back for braving the madness of Black Friday. I also question my sanity. Will I honestly ever participate in a Black Friday shopping day? Today confirmed what I'd only imagined...no sane person ever would.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

It's 11PM, the pies are made, the dressing is ready to go into the oven, the stock is made for the gravy, the potatoes and carrots are peeled and soaking ready to go into their pans with oodles of cheese and cream, and the turkeys are filling up every square inch of my oven right now. The banana pudding is next on my list before I end my day. It seems like a Sunday to me rather than a Wednesday.

I spent the day mostly in the pharmacy today...three hours to get three prescriptions. It seems everyone was running out of meds at the same time. There was also the issue of whether my regular prescription company or medicare would pay for the nebulizer drugs. It put a serious crimp in my time table, but my hubby had to have his morphine and medicines. Family started arriving tonight and will continue coming until noon tomorrow for the feast. It is already a madhouse. Although the younger children have gone to bed, the adults are playing poker at the table and others have a roaring game of nine-ball going.

Just when I was getting used to the idea of my newest grandson being born on the 6th of December, my daughter called and said he is now being born on the 29th of this month as in this Tuesday. She has already started dilating and the doctor has ordered her on bed rest so she won't delivery tomorrow. At this point I expect a call anytime now.

I am chomping at the bit for two weeks to hurry up until I get my new computer. This one will hardly let me get on a roll with writing. Think about it...how much can you write in fifteen or twenty minutes? My blog takes that long to write. I've put so many people on hold because of destruction/construction and computer issues that next month will be a busy one. One of those dawn to dawn type endeavors for the month. It's going to make the nanny-nannie-poo-poo (national writer's month) look like a cake walk.

I read a blog recently about irritation at couponers in the store. I'm one of those. No, I'm not an extremist, but a cut and use type couponer. Yes, I do have a zipper binder. Yes, I do use coupons for everything I buy...well almost. It makes dollars and cents. To show you an example...this feast tomorrow cost me a total of $47 for forty-five people. Imagine if I hadn't caught the sales and used coupons!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Backstory is the history of your character's past. It is a literary tool used to add depth to your writing. Now most times when I'm writing or editing I'll delete backstory in rather large chunks. It is so easy in the first draft stage to be bogged down in the past of your character. Most editors will tell you it is unnecessary, but I tend to straddle the fence.

This post will show you effective backstory guidelines.

Can you show justification of why the backstory is necessary at this point in time in your story?
Does it move your story forward?
Does it help show why your character is doing what they are doing in the present?
Can you read through the couple of lines of backstory and not ruin your story's pacing?

These are some questions you need to ask yourself while editing. If the answer is "YES" continue. If your answer is "NO" stop right here and delete the passage.

IF you answered "YES."
Is the backstory something worth waiting for?
Is it a dream or desire your character really wants?
Does it affect what is happening now in your story?
Is it something the reader HAS to know?

I know these are a lot of questions. I find questions are sometimes the answers we seek as authors. All your characters have a story and a past. As an author we know what that history is. Authors tend to be rather flamboyant. We like to show off with words what we know. That is why we write in the first place.

Ah, I hear you now... I'm an introvert, I hate attention, I'm (add whatever here). But honestly...look at the reasons you indie publish or publish at all. You could write for your own pleasure and never have another person read what you wrote. With publishing we become the peacock preening its feathers displaying them in all their glory. If you are going to show off your feathers to the world, shouldn't it be something beautiful?

The number one question I'm often asked during an interview is "What makes you write?" or variations of it.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Thanksgiving is fast approaching...too fast as in three days. I don't know about your house, but mine will be filled to overflowing with 45 family members and four generations. Not as many as 4th of July or Christmas, but still a healthy number of folks.

This is how we celebrate 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas...as a family. We each set everything aside to spend time with each other and everyone will speak to everyone else at least once during the day.

For me, it's the cooking. I started yesterday with my Mandarin Orange and Cranberry compote. It definitely gets better with age. Having been a chef in my previous life cooking for large numbers doesn't bother me...the clean up does. I've had a long standing rule in my house...I cook you clean! I spend days in shopping and cooking before an event like this. The menu is made weeks in advance, if not months. This year is kind of lonesome in my kitchen without my youngest daughter, a pastry chef, beside me.

Now you'd think a former chef would have a huge kitchen and you'd be wrong where I'm concerned. My kitchen is the old 1960's galley style 7'x11'. When you think about two cooks in my kitchen, you'd think we'd trip all over each other, but not my daughter and I. We had the routine down cold after all the years of cooking together. I miss her sorely this year so I've set my timetable very carefully.

Tomorrow is pies (cherry, apple, sweet potato and pumpkin) and other desserts (brownies, cookies, and banana pudding). The stock pot will be full of turkey goodies simmering away for several gallons of gravy and the dressing. The turkeys will be brined for slow roasted, juicy tenderness. My father always fried turkeys, but to me there is something about carving into that crispy brown skin that makes this a holiday. Fried turkeys have to be drained and the skin discarded. I did myself a favor this year and bought a spiral cut ham so all I have to do is bring it up to temperature. My house will reek of home apples, cinnamon, and turkey stock by the evening and it will only be Tuesday!

No, I don't cook it all myself. This year I've asked each of my sisters and brothers, and adult children to bring assorted vegetables. On Wednesday, before the turkeys go into the oven the breads are baked. Cornbread, dinner rolls, and several loaves of white bread for the dressing. Later in the evening the birds will go into the oven and my house will have the scent of fresh breads, and sage, thyme, rosemary, and assorted other spices. I will also start brewing iced tea...twenty gallons with simple syrup to sweeten it!

Thursday morning, my sons in law will be over to set up the tables and chairs. Only the older adults like great great grandparents, great grands, and grandparents will sit inside at my 10-person table. The pool house will open up for the my adult siblings parents with the children and grandchildren set at picnic tables.

My writing will stop as I switch hats to cook and hostess...not that I've been able to do much of that in the fifteen minute increments between computer shut downs. <sigh> Two weeks until my new computer and my new grandson is born.

This is a time of reflection for me. I look back over the decades and congratulate myself for making it through all the muck. I cherish the time spent with friends and family. And I thank God that I'm still here able to play author and hostess for one more year.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

sur·rep·ti·tious/sərəpˈtiSHəs/Adjective: Kept secret, esp. because it would not be approved of.

You know the old saying...big brother is watching. That's the topic of today's blog...secrets.

How well do you keep a secret?I've kept many things secret for decades. "Escape from Second Eden" was based on true events thinly veiled fictitious character changes to protect the innocent and the guilty. Of course, a percentage of this novel is pure fiction.

It took thirty years before I let the light into my closet of horrors from my childhood. When I first approached my father about writing about what happened in Ceylon he simply told me to write it as fiction. When you work in clandestine services a lot of things are kept secret. Half truth, innuendo, and sometimes blatant lies are the result. So how honest are you? How honest should you be? How much can you talk about? These are every important questions.

When my little sister read the initial copy of Escape from Second Eden, she cried. She remember each and every incident no matter how young she was at the time. She said she had never talked about it because she didn't know what we could or couldn't say. She like me stuffed it all deep inside until it poisoned the soul because of the repression. I spent years in therapy for traumatic stress syndrome because of past incidents and present. There is catharsis in writing. It brings the boogie man front and center out into the open, and then evaporates in the light.

As an author I pull from all sorts of areas to spark ideas, hours of research, and then just plain out creative juices to write an intriguing story. One that makes you wonder...did it really happen? Could it really happen? Wait a minute, I can relate to that. I know that feeling. These are all things readers have said to me about what I have written.

I have heard the conspiracy theories on online search engines being monitored. Somewhere there is a huge telecommunications computer geared for keywords. It makes me wonder. I know the internet is not private...look at what you can google today compared to ten years ago...just about everything. It sure saves time for writers doing research. I remember the old days of having to go to the library or the bookstore to find information. Today's it's just a couple taps on the keyboard and voila! you have it.

This made me think of what I have actually researched on the internet in the past few months...

Friday, November 18, 2011

This afternoon I posted Thursday's blog...well call me a day late and a dollar short...constantly! With all the holiday commotion, construction, and calls/emails I lost track of my days.

One interesting thing of note and rather disturbing is from one of my daughters. She uses strictly cell phone service...no land lines. Last night, she received several phone calls from a person playing games and it was the same voice.

This was more than an innocent pranks of the old days...Do you have Prince Albert in a can? Well let him out. This was vicious and down right scary. The number was blocked and it was after midnight.

The caller asked if she had a brother. My son died many years ago so she told the other person, no and she thought they had the wrong number. The next call from this blocked number asked her if she was married and had children. She hung up. The third time the caller got really nasty and threatened to kill her and her family. This time she told them in not nice terms to go play in traffic and stop calling. The fourth call that she answered the caller told her he knew where she lived and was coming to kill them.

Needless to say she woke her husband again. This time telling him to load his gun. They keep it unloaded because of their children. And they waited. This is sick people! Nobody showed up, but they were waiting. Today she called her phone service and they told her it would take SIXTY DAYS! This is even more ludicrous in my mind. She later filed a police report on the incident. Whoever it was got their jollies, but if it were me I would have told them to try...dead men can't tell stories.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." This line is from the movie the "Princess Diaries."

When you tell your friends you are self-publishing a book it is first viewed as you having the temerity or audacity of doing such an act. They know you on a level that may not be what you think of yourself. To be bold. To be confident. To have the audacity to see your work in print. It's a drive which few other than an author understands. A true friend will applaud and secretly admire your courage.

Literary agents and the NY type publishers will discount your decision as fool-hardy akin to suicide of any authorial career. Who are you to know better than them...the experienced, the gate-keepers, and key holders of what is literary?

Over the years I have watched the publishing business change from many small fishes in a big ocean to huge fishes in a small pond and the pond is getting smaller. The pond is getting smaller with the advent of e-publishing. Each one of the huge conglomerates are pushing for elbow room. I find it interesting that they are jumping into the boat. They have finally realized in order to get to the bigger pond across the road they must comply with a new set of rules or die.

Temerity is needed by an author who is breaking into the market. While confidence levels fluctuate depending on sales and marketing efforts, the courage it takes to make the initial leap is mind boggling...sort of like my penguin friends in the picture. While an author, like me- may have a file cabinet drawer full of rejection slips from various agents and publishers over the years, we have the courage to say "no" my work is more important than the opinions of the gate-keepers. It has value. It should be read. It should be out there in the world for all.

You as the indie author have the temerity, courage, and audacity to put your neck on the chopping block. Win or lose is no matter, of course we all want to win. We are guided by the reading audience. We give the reader what they want and when they want it...which was yesterday.

Supply and demand figures on what is available by self-published or e-published authors is an avalanche of product that there is a varying demand for. A supply glut, but times are changing. Look at it this way...you are the pioneer crossing streams and mountains to get to the promised land on the other side. The way is perilous, hard, and many times you want to give up.

If you lack the confidence, courage, backbone, or temerity to see your work in print...then an indie author is not something you want to even consider. For me, it's an informed choice.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

I was walking through my overgrown garden today. Overgrown because I haven't tilled it under yet. I ran across, or rather it ran across my foot, a southeastern legless lizard. Now anyone who knows me, knows I'm deathly afraid of snakes.

Yes, this is a lizard and upon close examination you can see the gills BUT if it looks like a snale and moves like a snake...IT IS a snake in my mind. This sucker was three feet long!

Yeah, I was doing that crazy hopping dance out of the garden. It taught me not to go into the garden without my boots again...I was in sandals. WILLLIES!!!!

On the writing front- I've gotten the names and addresses for the two winners of signed paperbacks from the Halloween blog hop. The competition was hot and furious. Congratulations to...

Julie Witt
andChrystal McLean

Your signed copies were posted today so you should receive them shortly. Four others won downloadable versions of "Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption" but I don't have a list of those winners. WTG All who entered.

Meanwhile I've been dealing with computer issues. One hard drive failure on my desktop and a heat sensor issue with my laptop. When I looked at the cost of a new hard drive, and a new CD-DVD drive for my desktop it honestly would be cheaper to buy a new one. It only takes money and right now all my available cash has gone into the repairs on my home.

The laptop issue is going to be a bear. There is no fixing it according to my PC guy. The machine just runs hot even with a dual fan underneath. Once it hits 80+ degrees it shuts down. I have to wait until it cools down and then start again. The temperature gauge software shows my computer normally running at 78 degrees so time is short when it works.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Now being self-published, you've missed one of the biggest headaches next to writing the synopsis. The dreaded query letter. But for those of you who are thinking about standard publishing, I've seen a tons of blogs, videos and other resources about how to write a proper query letter to an agent. I thought I'd give you the other side. I know you'll be laughing after watching, but I'll bet there are tons of agents out there who can give you examples of things shown in this video.

BTW, this is post #46 of the 53rd day in the S.H.I.N.Eonline bloggers challenge.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

It has reached a point in all this construction nonsense that I have to leave my house for a few days. The fumes and sounds are just wearing me out. I've stayed because this is where my husband is the most comfortable, but this is no longer the case. So tomorrow we are checking into a motel...it will definitely be warmer.

I actually pulled my wool blazer out this morning for a wedding. Fall is definitely here with shades of winter for south Georgia.

On the writing front, I'm at a standstill. I'm currently looking for a motel with WiFi and allows pets, we have two cats. Maybe I can actually get some work done. The best I've managed to do was sporatic blogs and answer followers on twitter. I did see a cute video of my next to the youngest granddaughter singing "Poker Face" on Facebook. Really cute.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

You ever notice when you are NOT having fun, time flies by? Yeah I know, it's usually the other way around. There have been so many details going on around my house that before I know it...it's one o'clock in the morning. The work doesn't stop on my house. Once the contractors are gone there is the pick up, the priming, and the color choices to make. Yes, I could let them all do the work, but then it wouldn't be my house.

I did a paint technique in my old office which from about mid line down looks like blue jeans. I put a border of old world maps above that and then placed burgundy screen molding to encase it. The upper wall is a cream color. It looks marvelous if I do say so myself. I sewed some navy blue curtains made of recycled blue jeans, so I think I'm set now. If the cable guy, no not Jim Carey, would come in and run the internet line to my new office I'll be finished and able to move in. It will sure beat sitting on the couch with my laptop trying to write.

What spurred all this renovation to my home? Well a tree bough fell on it...not one of those tiny ones either. I've been putting off things for years being busy with life, work and writing. Injuries, family illnesses, and surgeries also didn't help. I had no choice but put everything aside and focus on the house. I knew it would have to be done someday. I guess if the bough hadn't broken...it would still be a someday item so it's not entirely bad.

Now if I can just get all my son in laws together over here to help move the pool table into my old 15x20 office. Oh yeah, I forgot. The part that the bough fell on...was my office. It took out a wall and a good section of the roof. Ya gotta love old southern live oak trees. This one is probably 60 years old. A beautiful towering creature who has lived here longer than my home. Great shade in the summer. Great leaves in the fall for the garden. Well the limb will make good fire wood next year.

So the hammering, sawing and other construction work continues. Along with it a total creativity drain. Although if you look at the meter to the right you will see progress, it feels like I'm at a standstill. These manuscripts should be through the first draft part of writing. Maybe I'm just being too hard on myself. It's just life getting in the way.

Monday, November 7, 2011

verb (used without object)
1. to proceed by or take a winding or indirect course: The stream meandered through the valley.
2. to wander aimlessly; ramble: The talk meandered on.

I started out well this morning with writing before the contractors showed up. Then my motivation and focus took on the meandering path. Of course when you awaken at six AM with the world quiet as it can be, work seems to flow easily.

Now normally I believe in the fastest path between two points is... you got it...a straight line.

But there is something to be said for meandering through what you are writing. Exploring avenue which pop up. Sometimes they are wild goose chases, but other times they are golden and open up a whole new dimension to what you are writing.

Since normally I do my homework with all my novels and nonfiction, this is a major deviation. I write from point A to point B. Today with the interruptions in thought processes which I've experienced for two weeks now, I found myself looking at a character in a different light. I played the what-if game. You know the one I'm talking about...what if she didn't have someone chasing her through the town with a machete? What if the zombies were organized into a true feeding undead force? What if she didn't have enough ammunition? Woah, wait a minute! The storyline for the third Zombie Apocalypse novel came into my mind. I allowed myself to play this game for several hours instead of actually putting pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard. I waited until the lunch break before I actually started jotting things down.

The air hammers tend to mess up my typing rhythm and jumble my thoughts. Tonight I sit here writing my blog and wonder what will inspire me tomorrow?

In the news is the near-earth-object (NEO) passing between the moon and the Earth. It's the size of an aircraft carrier. (4 football fields)Visible in the early evening sky with a six-inch telescope. If the scientists are wrong and it actually hits us, the estimated crater would be 1,500 square feet across. Now that would be something to write about.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Today is Sunday. Yippeee, Yahooo, fizzlefrazzle! On the agenda today is one church service, reading five chapters for other authors and editing, After that I quit!
Before you all start worrying...it's only for today.

Monday, I will be back at work on the children's book which should have been out last week. But wait I said that last Monday....lol.

The final three chapters on my zombie sequel in rough draft, and the final three chapters of the book I'm co-authoring. I think the carpenters will hold it down to a dull roar with mudding the drywall. At least it's better than the air hammers and saws. Maybe then I can get the thoughts straight in my mind. At least that's the plan. Here's crossing my fingers that the power doesn't go off again because of an accident or transformer blowing.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

This past three weeks life has been throwing me speed bumps. You know those things the the road which make you slow down or tear out the undercarriage of you car? The more I want to get on my computer and write; the more life throws at me.

I'm sitting here with work piling up and deadlines looming with nary a cohesive, creative jolt in my brain. Just too much other stuff going on. You'd think with as much morphine that my husband is on he'd be sleeping...nope. It's this or that thing which needs doing like updating our medical insurance, life insurance, property taxes, construction workers (Did I mention I was having work done on my home?), and running hither and yon.

I haven't even read the books I downloaded onto my kindle. I'm trying to think of the last time I did an editing session in a hot bubble bath and for the life of me I can't remember...that's how chaotic my life has been. It's more quicky showers when I get a couple minutes when the power doesn't go out (twice in the past week), I'm not helping a grown daughter with her homework,complications in another daughter's pregnancy, and even my daily blog has gone kaput. I am barely sleeping which isn't helping. My twitter acct has been left by the wayside while I put out fires on all fronts.

This is one of the major reasons I hate being self employed and working at home. When you work for someone else you go to work, do your job, and then leave it at work. When you are self-employed there is always something to throw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans.

On the good side, I got my royalty check from Amazon Kindle. It was some well needed revenue and a milestone in my self publishing adventure. YIPEEE!I really wasn't expecting anything for the first year so this is progress.

Well there is always tomorrow. If you are waiting on edits and rewrites, they are coming.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Well, it's official Halloween is over for another year. I had forty-two children come to my door last night which is a far cry from previous years. It was less than expected for us. Oh well, more M&M's for me!

Parents are busy and parents are afraid to let their children go out into neighborhoods. I watched as parents drove by and stopped at each house with a light on.

I can remember with joy the hours spent in my own childhood traipsing through the neighborhood with my sack of candy. I also remember the kid who found a razor blade in his apple the hard way. It says a lot about society and the changes I've seen over the decades. Now, if you want horror all you have to do is watch the local news station instead of going to the theaters or reading a book. It's sad when you think about it.

Today is November 1st. The air is a bit crisper with a definite coolness to it at 64 degrees. I know my cousins up in the northwest are grabbing their coats with much colder weather, but for us it's a nice change from the 100+ degrees of summer. The leaves are falling and I'm finally out of my boot. Yes, after fourteen weeks my toes and foot are healed at least on the outside. The doctor tells me to expect a couple more months before it is totally healed. Good thing too, because now I can pull a sock on my foot. Can I get an "AMEN!"

I can recall a time when broken bones weren't such a long ordeal for me...like ten years ago, but with age everything slows down. I've had two weeks off from writing again. Part of this was due to illness of my hubby and the past week was just me recovering. But today I start again. I know it is also the start of that HUGE writing competition where you write 50,000 words in a month. I can never remember the alphabet letters associated with it. NANNIE-NANNIE-POO-POO, or whatever. I know a lot of authors are participating. I have never participated in it. I write fast enough to not consider it a challenge. Believe me, when I get started not much stops me on average.

My blog got a nod from another blogger, Late Bloomers. Thanks Samantha for the nod. The pic of the award is on my other computer and will add it later. I participated in a new monster character study on her blog last month. It was a pretty interesting experience. I met Samantha at SheWrites.com.

Angel Haze's month long blog hop is over for this year. Six lucky winners will receive either a e-version or a sign copy of "Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption." I still haven't received the list of winners yet, but will post it as soon as I do.

I checked into the Indie Author Collective's Blog-tour-de-force. But since I get a list of soldiers wanting e-books already through Operation E-Book Drop, it seemed kind of redundant to me. Of course the added benefit of joining would be more hits on my blog. But I'm not doing that bad so far this past year...0 to almost 3000 with very little effort on my part.I think I'll pass on it this time.

So I find myself coasting towards the end of the year. This is blog #40 of the SHINEonline challenge of 100 blogs in the last 100 days of the year. I'm off about three so I'll fall short of 100 unless I post a couple of blogs on the same day, but I'm not really worried greatly about it.

So as we fall into fall, and a time change...what have you got left to accomplish this year?